Carole Mallory's blog consists of movie and book reviews and commentary on Hollywood. Mallory is an actress who portrayed a Stepford Wife in the original film and appeared in other movies such as Looking for Mr. Goodbar. A former supermodel, her writings are published in The Huffington Post and Hollywood's The Wrap. Her book reviews are published in the Philadelphia Inquirer. Norman Mailer was her mentor. Upon his death she sold her collection of writings with his edits to Harvard University.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

INSIDE LLWEYN DAVIS

Movie Review...See Inside Llweyn Davis

At first glance Inside Llewyn Davis is about a week in
the life of a struggling folk singer in Greenwich Village in the
sixties. Nostalgia. But at closer look, it is about much more.
Guatemalan born with Cuban ancestry Oscar Isaac portrays Llewyn Davis
with an understated charm. Bless the Coen Brothers for casting him , for
their fine writing, for keeping control of this important film so that
they can de Hollywoodize it. No credits in the beginning. No ego.
Humble. Just a soulful Llweyn Davis singing a folk song. He is in a
bistro that features folk singers. This was the era. The Kingston Trio.
Joan Baez. Folk singers were gods. Successful ones. But what about
all those struggling performers who never achieved fame? One of these
is named Llewyn Davis and this is his story. His struggle. His
meeting with poignant characters on his journey to support himself. His
love for and tenderness to cats. His courage.
Cameos by fine actors who deliver powerful understated performances give
this film a curiosity which makes one wonder, "Whom will Llewyn
encounter next?" First we have a terrific performance from Carey
Mulligan as Jean who needs an abortion no thanks to Llewyn. Mulligan is
strong, angry and delightful with her foul..I am no longer the Gatsby
darling...mouth. Then we have a subdued Jason Timberlake as Jim who
sings along with Llweyn. Timberlake is also understated and shines
because of this. None of that hot shot, slam bam kind of performance,
but a mellowness that adds richness to his brief moments on screen.
Then we have Juilliard graduate Adam Driver, known for his role in Girls
as Lena Dunham's boyfriend in another one of his quirky, over the top
performances in which he sings along with Timberlake and Isaac and grabs
the comedy from the scene. Then we have junkie John Goodman who
appears as a passenger in a car bound for Chicago from New York and
Llweyn is one of three. Oh, not to forget a cat that Llweyn has been
schlepping throughout first half of the film. The cat has escaped from
one of his many friend's apartments where he has been forced to
overnight due to no place to rest his weary bones. Goodman as Roland
Turner comes alive from his heroin induced state for jarring comedic
moments, but as with all of the Coen Brothers work, the comedy comes
naturally out of the performer or the situation. Often black, dark and
wickedly funny. Nothing is forced. Goodman has rarely been better.
When Llwelyn arrives in Chicago he meets with F. Murray Abraham as Bud
Grossman. Not the austere character he plays on Homeland,
Abraham's portrait of Grossman as a folk-singers-only-club owner is
again subdued. And again, thanks to the Coen Brother's direction,
Abraham's performance is sensitive, tender and refreshing. One of the
best of his career. He takes long moments and fills them with thought.
About Llweyn. The music arranged by T-bone Burnett becomes a character
and is the mortar that makes these scenes cohesive. Fine folk singing
links the scenes of Llewyn's downtrodden, dejected, and yet inspiring
week. There are many more performers who give richness and texture to
this fine film, but as they say in the arts, "There wasn't the room or
time to mention them." And this is again what Inside Llewyn Davis is about. Finding room and time to pay attention to the striving, struggling artist. It does not have to be a folk singer. Inside Llweyn Davis is
about all performers and the journey along the way to make a living at a
craft they love -- be it singing folk songs, dancing, writing,
whatever. Loving a craft so much that one puts up with the bullshit
along the way. Loving the craft enough that doing it is enough of a
reward. One critic wrote, 'I've seen Inside Llewyn Davis many times and still don't know what it's about," Inside Llweyn Davis is about being Inside llweyn Davis and this was enough for me.

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About Carole Mallory

Carole Mallory is an actress, journalist, professor, and film critic. Her film credits include Stepford Wives and Looking for Mr. Goodbar. As a supermodel she graced the covers of Cosmopolitan, New York, and Newsweek. Besides her novel “Flash,” Mallory has written a memoir of her time with Norman Mailer, Loving Mailer. After the writer's death, she sold her archive of his papers to Harvard. Her journalistic pieces on Vonnegut, Jong, Vidal, Baryshinikov, and Heller have been published in Parade, Esquire, Playboy, Los Angeles Magazine, The Huffington Post, and Hollywood's The Wrap. Her review of Charles Shields' biography of Kurt Vonnegut, And So It Goes, was published in the Sunday Philadelphia Inquirer. She teaches memoir at Cheltenham Adult School and Widener University.
All the best,
Carole Mallory
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